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Pat's Food Center Invests $6.2 Million
March
31, 2003Helping a family-owned business expand
Since 1955, Pat’s Food Center in Freeland has been the place where local
residents buy their staples, amid the friendly atmosphere of a family-owned
store. In 2003, Pat’s Food Center, now managed by the second generation of
the Cabala family, made plans to double the size of their store to keep up
with the fast growth in the community. Freeland is currently home to about
7,000 people — and Pat’s rings up as many as 9,000 orders each week.
"We want to grow with the community, so we’re working to provide what
people want in a grocery store," said Joel Cabala, store director for Pat’s
Food Center. The $6 million project is already under way to add another
35,000 square feet to the existing store.
The expanded store will include restaurant-style seating in the deli, a
pharmacy and a hardware department. But the whole project would not have
been possible without the partnership of both the public and private
sectors.
Saginaw Future assisted Pat’s Food Center by working with the Michigan
Economic Development Corporation to secure a $310,000 Community Development
Block Grant to enclose the large county drain that runs along M-47 in front
of the store.
The grant has also provided funding to bury overhead utility lines and
extend the downtown streetscape (sidewalks, lighting and landscaping) in
front of the expanded store — helping to connect the store with the rest of
Freeland’s downtown. Work on this part of the project will begin in the
spring of this year. Because of Pat’s substantial investment on a site with
potential environmental challenges, Saginaw Future was also able to help the
company secure a $520,600 Brownfield Single Business Tax credit.
Pat’s Food Center currently has 65 employees, including four second
generation siblings of Pat Cabala.
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